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eMOLT Update 2025-03-28
Weekly Recap
We started our efforts to transfer all Study Fleet environmental data
collection over to the eMOLT data pipeline this week down in Point
Judith aboard the F/V Cody and F/V Lightning Bay. Thanks to Captains Jay
and Robert for allowing us aboard on short notice while they were
getting ready to head out. Thanks also to Cooperative Research Branch
Chief Dr. Anna Mercer for coming along to lend a hand.

Figure – Anna reassembles the deckbox aboard the F/V Lightning
Bay after the upgrade.
Travel continues to tighten up for those of us employed by the
federal government. We are currently limited to locations within a 50
mile drive of a lab. This means that while Point Judith and Newport
remain allowable, much of the South Shore (north of the North River) and
the Outer Cape (north of Chatham) are now out of bounds for “local
travel”. Try not to think too hard about whether that makes sense. We’ll
continue to try to make the best of things. A big thanks to all of our
field partners who are picking up the slack here.
- Dr. Andrew Goode at the University of Maine is filling in for George
at a meeting with lobstermen in Ellsworth in a few weeks
- Erin Pelletier and Emma Weed installed a few systems on their way
back north after the Seafood Expo and have plans to head Downeast to
work on a few boats after the Ellsworth meeting
- Huanxin Xu will be heading up to Cohasset to meet with Captain Joe
on the F/V Ryan Joseph and do a little hardware maintenance for him in
the near future
- After a fortuitous meeting at the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s
Association trade show a few months back, Eric Hryniewicz from Waterfront has been a huge
help coordinating eMOLT installs with several scallop and clam
boats
I also need to give a shout out to Captain Bill on the F/V Eleanor
Kathryn, who went above and beyond to get his eMOLT system running way
Downeast earlier this week. Thanks to the ongoing travel issues, it was
unlikely that anyone from the eMOLT program was going to be able to get
out to service Bill’s system until the middle of next month. With spotty
cell reception on his mooring, Captain Bill uninstalled his eMOLT system
and tossed it in his truck, drove to a spot where he knew the deckbox
would have service, then wired it into his truck so that I could log in
remotely and straighten out the software. The ingenuity and tenacity of
our partners in the fishing industry is always an inspiration. Thanks
for all your efforts, Bill!
This week, the eMOLT fleet recorded 154 tows of sensorized fishing
gear totaling 1032 sensor hours underwater. The warmest recorded bottom
temperature was 51 F near Welker Canyon in approximately 136 fathoms
(red profile) and the coldest recorded bottom temperature was 38.5 F off
Provincetown in approximately 41 fathoms (blue profile). Below, you can
see these profiles plus a few other temperature profiles of interest
across the region from the last week.

Figure 2 – Temperature profiles collected by eMOLT participants
over the last week. The blue profile is where the coldest bottom
temperature was measured and the red profile is where the warmest bottom
temperature was measured. All other colors are assigned randomly.
Colored points on the map indicate where profiles of the same color were
collected. The small dark green dots represent other profiles collected
this week, but not highlighted in the plot. Note that the warmest /
coldest bottom temperatures measured could have occurred during gear
soaks, which are not represented on this profile plot.
Multi-generation eMOLT Partnership Continues Collecting Data
A big thanks to the Souza family (F/V Crash, F/V Rachel Christine,
and formerly F/V Raider III) for their efforts in support of the eMOLT
program. Data from a sensor they’ve deployed in 15 fathoms off Cape Cod
for 22 years shows that 2024 bottom temps were much colder than 2023 or
average values in the summer, with a later turnover in the fall.

Figure 3 – range and average of bottom temperatures observed at
the Souza family’s site from 2002-2024 with 2023 (green) and 2024
(black) records highlighted.
New Publication on Black Sea Bass Catch Rates
Guest write up from Dr. Andy Jones, a Cooperative Research Branch
scientist at the NMFS Narragansett Lab
Combining
sources of high-resolution fishery-dependent data from the northeast
United States to develop a catch rate time series
This paper comes from the Cooperative Research Branch’s work on the
black sea bass research track assessment and outlines a method for using
commercial catches to build indices of species abundance (similar to a
survey index). We used bottom temperature information help standardize
catches and develop the new catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE) indices. Having
data collected by partners in the NEFSC Study Fleet and eMOLT program
was vital for the study as it allowed for a comparison to modeled bottom
temperatures, and including bottom temperature in the CPUE
standardization helped to better estimate catch-rates! We hope to carry
this work forward into the future assessments, and continue to use the
bottom temperature data as a variable in index standardizations for
other species.

Figure 4 – Dr. Andy Jones aboard the F/V Darana R conducting
research in support of the Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel.
Atlantic Surfclams’ Response to a Changing Environment
Given the number of surfclammers currently engaged in the eMOLT
program, we thought it was worth mentioning that the scientists from the
Resource
Evaluation and Assessment Division and the Ecosystems
and Aquaculture Division at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center
is working with several towns in Massachusetts, Massachusetts Maritime
Academy, and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
to better understand surfclam growth and survival under different
environmental conditions. To learn more and get in touch with the
scientists involved in the work, you can check out the project website
here.
System Hardware Upgrade List
The following vessels remain on our list for hardware upgrades. If
you aren’t on the list and think you should be, please reach out.
Note that this list is different from our new install
queue.
- F/V Kaitlyn Victoria
- F/V Kyler C
- F/V Noella C
- F/V Sea Watcher I
Bottom Temperature Forecasts
Doppio
This week, 91.9% of bottom temperature observations were within 2
degrees (F) of the Doppio forecasted value at those points. This
exceptionally high number was driven by the spatial clustering of
observations in areas where the model performed well (off Provincetown,
MA and south of Long Island). Bottom temps were warmer than expected
along the shelf break, where fewer observations were collected.

Figure 5 – Performance of the Doppio forecast’s bottom
temperature layer over the last week relative to observations collected
by eMOLT participants. Red dots indicate areas where bottom temperature
observations were warmer that predicted. Blue dots indicate areas where
bottom temperature observations were cooler than predicted. Bottom
temperature observations are compared with the most recent forecast run
available before the observation was made.

Figure 6 – The most recent Doppio bottom temperature forecast.
The gray line is the 50 fathom line and the black line is the hundred
fathom line. Purple shades indicate cooler water.
Northeast Coastal Ocean Forecast System

Figure 7 – The most recent bottom temperature forecast from the
Northeast Coastal Ocean Forecast System GOM7 model. The gray line is the
50 fathom line and the black line is the hundred fathom line. Purple
shades indicate cooler water.

Figure 8 – The most recent bottom temperature forecast from the
Northeast Coastal Ocean Forecast System MassBay model. Purple shades
indicate cooler water.
Announcements
CRB is Compiling a List of Vessels Interested in Cooperative
Research
In an effort to expand partnerships between fishermen and scientists,
we are ramping up a new initiative to create a list of fishing vessels
interested in participating in cooperative research. We have created
forms for vessels to sign up to participate in cooperative research,
from environmental monitoring to biological sampling to industry based
surveys to conservation gear engineering … the opportunities are
endless! Many scientists want to work with fishermen, but it is
difficult to know who to contact or where to start. The intent of this
effort is to make connections between scientists and fishing industry
members.
- If you already participate in cooperative research and want to
continue to do so, please fill out this
form
- If you do not currently participate in cooperative research, but
want to, please fill out this
form
- If you know other captains or owners who are interested in
participating in cooperative research, please share this form/link
with them
- If you don’t want to deal with an online form but want to sign up,
call Anna Mercer (774-392-7603)
None of the information provided through this form will be shared
publicly. It will only be used to make connections between individual
researchers and fishermen. We hope this effort will expand collaboration
opportunities for the years to come!
Fishing Partnership Support Services Spring Trainings Underway
For more information or to register for any of the training sessions
below, please visit the FPSS website
here.

Contribute to the 2026 Management Track Fishery Stock
Assessments
The Northeast Fisheries Science Center seeks input from our regional
assessment partners, including the fishing industry (commercial and
recreational), state agency scientists, academic researchers, and
interested members of the public to help guide development of our next
Management
Track Assessments.
Specifically, the NEFSC is looking for on-the-water observations or
data sets on topics such as distribution, stock health, fishing dynamics
and management, and the role these stocks play in the ecosystem.
June 2026 Management Track Stocks include
- Atlantic herring
- Butterfish
- Georges Bank Atlantic cod
- Georges Bank haddock
- Longfin inshore squid
- Ocean quahog
Disclaimer
The eMOLT Update is NOT an official NOAA document. Mention of
products or manufacturers does not constitute an endorsement by NOAA or
Department of Commerce. The content of this update reflects only the
personal views of the authors and does not necessarily represent the
views of NOAA Fisheries, the Department of Commerce, or the United
States.
All the best,
-George and JiM
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